Firas Tlass
| Firas Tlass | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Firas Mustafa Tlass 20 August 1960 Damascus, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1980s – present |
| Spouse(s) | Rania al Jabiri (married 1984) |
| Children | Yara Mira Lara Yasmine Mustafa |
| Parent(s) | Mustafa Tlass (father) |
| Relatives |
Manaf Tlass (brother) Abdul Razzaq Tlass (cousin) |
| Website | Official website |
Firas Mustafa Tlass (born 20 August 1960) is a Syrian business tycoon and a member of a significant Sunni family who had close relations with former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, but defected to the rebels during the Syrian Civil War.
Firas Tlass was born in Damascus on 20 August 1960. He is the second eldest child of Mustafa Tlass, a former Syrian Minister of Defense from 1972 to 2004 of Circassian and Turkish origin. Next to the Assad clan, his family was the most famous Sunni family in Syria, known for supporting the government. On the other hand, the members of his family worked for the Ottoman suzerains as well as French occupiers after the First World War.Manaf Tlass, who was a senior military official and defected in July 2012, is his younger brother.
He attended Ecole Laique in Damascus, graduating in 1978. He studied business administration at Damascus University, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in economy in 1984. He went to France to study French and obtained a degree in commerce from Paris.
Firas Tlass is described as a business tycoon and Syria's sugar king. He was the second richest person in Syria after Bashar al-Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf. Firas Tlass was a significant supporter and also, beneficiary of Bashar al-Assad's liberal economy policies over the past decade. He is said to have had the inside track during the privatization process in Syria. It was speculated that Firas Tlass had business relations with Rifaat al-Assad’s sons.
Firas Tlass founded Min Ajl Suriyya (MAS) (“For Syria” in English) in 1984. MAS deals with different commercial activities, ranging from roasting coffee beans to producing metal, canned food, and dairy products. MAS also provided the Syrian army with clothes, food, and medicine. In 2004, Tlass also began to provide financial assistance to the website Syria News that was owned by the Syrian Economic Center (SEC). In 2010, he launced EFG Hermes Syria with EFG Hermes, the leading Egyptian investment bank in the Arab world. It was reported that EFG Hermes Syria was a partnership between EFG Hermes (70%) and Firas Tlass (30%). Tlass became the chairman of the firm. Additionally, Tlass was the local joint venture partner for French cement company Lafarge. He is also Chairman of Palmyra-SODIC. His other business activity is the Palmyra real estate development company, of which he is the general manager.
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Wikipedia